Larry King's Plans: Bagel Store, Pitchman?

Is Larry King getting out of the nightly TV game in order to open a bagel shop?

Deadline's Mike Fleming reports that now that "Larry King Live" is ending and King is free to pursue other options, one thing he's planning is bringing a New York-quality bagel store to Los Angeles:

Just before he announced his exit, King closed a deal to become a financial partner in The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company, a Florida-based enterprise that claims to have developed a water treatment technology that replicates the H2O from the New York borough that is the key to churning out bagels that taste like they were made in Brooklyn (I'm not kidding). King will lend his name and his stature to an expansion effort that will bring an eatery to Beverly Hills, and franchises could spring up around the country. It all might lead to a public offering.

Meanwhile, the New York Post spoke with King's personal publicist, Howard Rubenstein, who said that King may be lending his name to much more than just bagels.

"He could be the spokesman on television for any product," Rubenstein said. "I could see billboards going up all over and with his picture on it saying, 'Buy so-and-so.'"

The Post also quotes an unnamed agent (who does not represent King) as saying that King stands to gain way more financially outside "Larry King Live" than he did while hosting the show.

"Losing that talk show may be the best thing that ever happened to him -- financially," the agent said.